Homes needed for displaced flood victims
Mountain Projects is meeting with flood victims who are currently in temporary housing, matching them with available resources to put…
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As deadly floodwaters recede, Haywood grapples with enormous loss
Huddled together in the dark atop a bunk bed in a barricaded bedroom with two dogs, four cats and her…
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The flood timeline
Friday, Aug. 13. Rivers are at normal levels, with a gauge about a mile upstream from Jukebox Junction on the East Fork…
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How to help flood victims
As the floodwaters from Tropical Storm Fred recede, the full extent of the damage is becoming clear. Residents of Haywood…
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Delta blues
The number of positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are once again on the rise due to the delta variant, which…
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Harrah’s donates $20,000 in flood relief
To help relieve the burden of those affected by the catastrophic flooding that occurred in Haywood County, Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos…
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Cherokee voters to choose representatives, alcohol regs
Election Day is coming to Cherokee on Thursday, Sept. 2, with voters set to choose Tribal Council and School Board…
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Indiana approves EBCI casino purchase
The Indiana Gaming Commission has approved a deal that would put an Indiana casino in the ownership of a company…
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Haywood School Board reverses course, mandates masks
At an emergency meeting Saturday, the Haywood County School Board voted 5-2 to mandate masks and enact a plan that will…
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Haywood County Schools assess flood damage
Tropical Storm Fred ravaged portions of Haywood County last week, including several school properties. The school board called an emergency…
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Flood of peppers: Fred strips fields prime for harvest
Rain was coming down hard as Gary Griffith surveyed his fields in Bethel, around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 17.…
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How to help
Haywood County Government urges those interested in donating time to help with relief and recovery efforts to visit recoverhaywood.com and…
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Flood victim assistance
North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey has set up a Victims’ Assistance Center in Haywood County to answer questions of…
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Jackson narrowly avoided catastrophic floods
While the Cruso area undisputedly received the worst of the flooding in Western North Carolina, it did not receive the…
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Haywood commissioner tests positive for COVID-19
Haywood County Board of Commissioners Chair Kevin Ensley tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 19. Ensley is experiencing mild cold-like symptoms…
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‘We’re just lucky to be alive’: Flood survivor recounts day of destruction
It’s late Friday morning. With cloudy skies above and a cool breeze swirling around her, Aubrey Ford gazes out onto…
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State and federal officials respond to Haywood flooding
As Haywood County continues to assess damage from the Pigeon River flooding associated with excess rainfall from Tropical Storm Fred…
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Many still missing in Haywood after last night’s floods
More than 30 people remain unaccounted for and search and rescue operations continue at this hour after heavy rainfall from…
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Making sense of the unimaginable: Floodwaters ravage the tightly-knit mountain community of Cruso
It’s about a mile past Jukebox Junction, down along U.S. 276 heading towards the small mountain community of Cruso, when…
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Labor market impacts college hiring season
Amid a nationwide struggle to fill open positions in a multitude of sectors, higher education institutions in Western North Carolina…
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Shining Rock begins school year in new, permanent home
The quiet calm of a bright summer morning dissipates like dew off the freshly manicured lawn upon entering Shining Rock…
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Pandemic pivot: Some used lockdown to reach educational goals
Kaitlyn Nelson was three-and-a-half months into living her Australian dream when the Coronavirus Pandemic hit, forcing her and her partner…
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As COVID cases rise, schools reverse mask decisions
As COVID-19 cases rise, in large part due to the spread of the new Delta variant, school boards across the…
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Residents file suit against Mission Health
A group of Western North Carolina residents has filed a class action lawsuit against Mission Health System and its parent…
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Zoning change could result in sale of Waynesville parcels
A pair of undeveloped parcels at the southwest corner of Asheville Highway and Howell Mill Road have undergone a zoning…
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Down Home N.C. fire local organizers
Over the past few years, political action group Down Home North Carolina has made a name for itself in Western…
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First responders ‘Tired, frustrated, angry, fearful’
The resurgent Delta variant of COVID-19 has created a dangerous situation across the country and across the state, and now…
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Sylva faces $2 million road repair
Fixing ongoing landslide issues on Allen Street could cost up to $2 million — an amount equivalent to more than 40%…
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Downtown Waynesville Association narrowly survives contentious hearing
The Downtown Waynesville Association has been in the fight of its 36-year political life since Waynesville aldermen refused to renew…
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More COVID cases, deaths in Haywood
In the week since the last press release, Haywood County Public Health has received notice of 206 new cases of COVID-19. As…
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After emergency meeting, Haywood Schools still won’t require masks
Almost three weeks after controversially voting to start the school year with optional masks for students, the Haywood County Schools…
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Cherokee establishes medical cannabis program
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will establish a medical marijuana program on tribal lands even as the drug remains…
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Masks back at college
With case numbers surging and fall semester beginning, local colleges and universities are reinstituting indoor masking requirements that had been…
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Parents petition Haywood school board to require masks
A petition to start the school year with universal masking in Haywood County Schools has over 630 signatures. This comes…
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Haywood amends school calendar
The Haywood County Schools Board of Education voted to amend the 2021-22 school calendar during its Aug. 9 regularly scheduled…
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Sarah Thompson joins Dogwood Health Trust
Dogwood Health Trust hired seasoned economic and community development executive Sarah Thompson to join the organization’s Impact Team on Sept.…
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Haywood Hospice honors volunteers
Volunteers with Haywood Hospice & Palliative Care were honored at a recent luncheon held at the First Presbyterian Church in…
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A new phase for Pathways Center
It’s been nearly seven years since Haywood Pathways Center served up its first meals to the needy, after the then-prison…
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Haywood highway dedicated to fireman
The N.C. Board of Transportation unanimously approved a resolution Thursday to dedicate a section of U.S. 276 in Haywood County…
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Medical cannabis advancing through General Assembly
Now that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has decided to move forward with a medical cannabis initiative, the rest…
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Swain will mandate masks in schools
Swain County Schools will start the year with a mask mandate, reversing a previous decision to make masks optional for…
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Businesses impacted by COVID-19 cases
A couple of Haywood County businesses have had to shut their doors temporarily after several employees were exposed to COVID-19.
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As hospitals mandate staff vaccines, Mission Health resists
By Peter H. Lewis • Asheville Watchdog | The largest health care providers in Western North Carolina, including Mission Hospital…
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Forest therapy trail approved for Sylva
Sylva may soon be home to the first certified forest therapy trail in North Carolina following the town board’s unanimous…
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Macon woman wielding machete video goes viral
A video showing two white men and one Black woman wielding a machete in the middle of Georgia Road in…
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Waynesville homeless task force meeting cancelled over COVID concerns
A meeting designed to gather public input on draft recommendations made by the Waynesville Task Force on Homelessness scheduled for…
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Cherokee to consider same-sex marriage law in September
After twice refusing to grant the legislation a perfunctory first reading, during its Aug. 5 meeting the Cherokee Tribal Council…
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Democrat Jay Carey brings perspective to NC11 field
With a father in the Navy and a mother from Poland, Jay Carey grew up in a middle-class family in…
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Cherokee elections around the corner
On Thursday, Sept. 2, Cherokee voters will select the next Tribal Council, three School Board representatives and answers to three…
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After a brief pause, eviction moratorium returns
A Trump-era policy designed to protect renters impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic was allowed to expire on the last day…
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